The Minnesota Timberwolves showed off all of their promise and potential with a little flair while earning a 117-96 preseason win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The flair came courtesy of heralded rookie point guard Ricky Rubio who was able energize the Target Center crowd off the bench by setting up several baskets for teammates with his nifty passing and ball handling. Rubio played 23 minutes and finished the game with six points, seven assists and six rebounds, with the signature play for the young Wolves coming when Rubio threw a lob from the top of the key to fellow rookie Derrick Williams for a high-flying finish.
Williams also had a strong rookie debut, coming off the bench to pump in 14 points in 21 minutes of play. As usual, forward Kevin Love did plenty of the heavy lifting for the Wolves, scoring 21 points (including 4 of 7 three-pointers) and grabbing 15 rebounds to pick up right where he left off last season. Michael Beasley also added 21 points and six rebounds to the win.
Mike Dunleavy led the way for Milwaukee with 16 points and five assists while rookie Jon Leuer added 18 points and five rebounds off the bench. The two teams will meet again on Wednesday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee for the final preseason game before starting the NBA regular season.